Wednesday 20 February, 2019

Por Jayson McNamara

Wednesday 20 February, 2019

Por James Grainger

Wednesday 20 February, 2019

Por James Grainger

The end of the year is rapidly approaching, but the news cycle in Argentina shows no sign of slowing down. In this week's Buenos Aires Times, we'll plunge into stories of corruption, the courts, president in the spotlights, start-up firms and the controversial pension reform which saw violent protests rock the nation's capital.

We begin this week's edition with a profile of Kirchnerite business ally Cristóbal López. The disgraced businessman and his associate Fabián de Sousa are accused of tax evasion to the tune of US$500 million and this week López, an oil and media tycoon with close ties to former presidents Néstor and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, handed himself over to police after a brief period on the run. Journalist Federico Poore, who co-authored a book that in part probed López and his casino businesses, is ideally placed to profile López and his fall from grace.

Sticking with Argentine news, we'll round up all the week's biggest stories, while Michael Soltys, Agustino Fontevecchia, James Neilson and Andrew Graham-Yooll cast their analytical eyes over recent news in our op-ed columns.

In the second of our major features of the week, Santiago del Carril will explore Argentina's start-up industry, explaining how it has developed and what steps the government are taking to boost small businesses and entrepreneurs. As well as introducing a how-to-guide, Santiago also interviews Lisa Besserman, the founder of Start Up BA, a firm that's been assisting and supporting entrepreneurs in Latin America since 2013. Besserman, one of Business Insider's Top 100 Women in Tech, shares her insight about the start-up scene and highlights what budding firms can do to ensure their project is a success.

Next, we'll drop into Latin America, where Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski salvaged his presidency after narrowly avoiding impeachment in Congress, after corruption allegations involving the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht. This development comes just days after Marcelo Odebrecht, the Brazilian firm's CEO, was released from jail to serve out the rest of his time under house arrest. In Brazil, impunity from corruption, is starting to anger the population - we find out why and what will happen next. Meanwhile, Carolina Barros links the centre-right presidents taking charge in the region and investigates their congressional problems, and Jayson McNamara consults expert voices about the result of the recent presidential election in Chile.

Finally, in Sports, Dan Edwards writes about elections at the helm of three of the nation's biggest clubs, Racing Club, River Plate and Independiente, where members took to the polls to decide who would lead their respective clubs as president in 2018 and beyond. We also share the sad news of Ariel Holan's departure from El Rojo, just one week after their Copa Sudamericana triumph.

All in all, it's another packed edition of the Buenos Aires Times. Remember to pick up your copy with Perfil, each and every Saturday!